Meet with us on toll hike, pols urge Christie

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The borough's contingent of elected officials has written to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie urging him to meet with them on Staten Island to discuss the hardship wrought by the recent Port Authority toll increase.

They note that the higher tolls affect borough and Garden State residents equally.

The strongly bipartisan letter was signed by U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn); state Sens. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) and Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island); Assembly members Matt Titone (D-North Shore), Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island), Lou Tobacco (R-South Shore) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn); as well as City Council members James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn), Debi Rose (D-North Shore) and Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore), and Borough President James Molinaro.

The officeholders say they'd welcome an opportunity to show Christie "firsthand the negative impacts the tolls will have on both Island and New Jersey residents."

Officials also said they would like to explore the potential for a link to light rail that would provide Staten Islanders a connection to Manhattan via Hudson County.

"Clearly these are challenging economic times at all levels of government and most especially for the citizens that we serve. We believe a meeting to discuss the impacts this toll increase will have on our community will serve to help you better understand the burden it places upon both the citizens we represent and our economy," reads the letter.

On Sept. 18, commuters began paying $12 to cross the Goethals and Bayonne bridges, as well as the Outerbridge Crossing. Those who use E-ZPass are charged $9.50 at peak travel times and $7.50 during non-peak hours.

A similar letter regarding the toll hikes was sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Oct. 5.